A Message from the Head Teacher
Dear Parents/ Carers,
When we return after the Easter break we will be making final preparations for the activities week and the various events planned to develop students determination, teamwork, problem solving, creativity and global citizenship. Before then of course we have public examination season. Each and every year the school goes into examination mode in order to support year 11 and 13 as best we can. We know from sport that marginal gains play a key part. The GB cycling team won Gold after removing a layer of paint from their bikes!
We will be asking students to be particularly mindful of the noise they make when travelling around the building. Examinations are often longer than two hours and therefore they inevitably start or finish as the rest of the students are moving around the building. There are a number of other things that will change in order to create conditions that support examination success:
Bells
Bells will be removed for the period of the MFL language Oral Examinations. It is essential that students use watches and clocks to check on the time to ensure that they are not late. In other walks of life (with the exception of prisons!) are there bells to remind you to do something, and therefore this will be good preparation for the workplace and university.
The order of the school day
Please note that from 13th May 2019 to 21st June 2019, in order to better accommodate the AM and PM examinations and minimise the noise from other students enjoying their recreation time, the timings of the day will be as follows for the examination period:
To give students the best preparation form the examinations, their timetables will be re-written to ensure they have time with their teachers prior to an afternoon examinations, or the afternoon before a morning examination. All students will need to vigilant about room changes and areas of the school that are being used for examinations.
Best wishes for a restful Easter
Half Term Trip to Washington
Washington was a remarkable experience- one we won’t soon forget. We saw a number of monuments; from the iconic Washington Monument to the monuments commemorating Wars such as WW2, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. At the Lincoln Memorial we couldn’t help but think about how this was where Martin Luther King Jr gave his famous ‘I have a Dream’ speech. It was surreal. While exploring the city –both on the metro and on foot- we were amazed at just how different Washington was to London. As an A-level student it was incredible to see our studies come alive; exploring the Museum of African-American History we were able to better visualise key events. We were eager to visit key political establishments like the White House which we had only been able to see in our textbooks. I know we will look back at this trip as one of the highlights of our sixth-form experience.
From Ellie F, Year 13-A-Level History and Politics student
BBO & the Royal Society of Biology
On the 6th and 7th February, Merin A, Joe S, Mia H and Salma Z, year 13, took part in the British Biology Olympiad. The BBO is a national biology competition, run by the Royal Society of Biology, which challenges and stimulates students with an interest in biology to expand and extend their talents in the subject. The students sat two gruelling 45 minute exam papers in which their knowledge of biology, above and beyond the curriculum was tested. The students performed extremely well with Merin and Salma being commended for their performance and Joe and Mia achieving the Bronze award, putting them in the top 15% of the students who took part. Well done all!
Ms Laura Smith - STEM Coordinator
LPGS - ALUMNI
Name: Emily Leonard
Years at LPGS: Year 7-13 (2008 – 2015) House: Gamma
Studied in 6th Form: Geography, Textiles, Psychology and Biology
What I loved: Geography and Textiles
What I miss: At the time I don’t think I appreciated how much fun school could be and how lucky I was to have the opportunity to learn in an environment with my friends. Looking back, we had some pretty good times both in and out of the classroom, so I’d say that’s what I miss.
Where did I go after LPGS and how did I end up there: When I left LPGS I went to the University of Nottingham to study Geography. The summer before I left school I completed a week long summer school with The Sutton Trust and spent a week at Nottingham staying in university halls and doing workshops. This gave me a taste of university and ultimately led me to going there. After an amazing 3 years I graduated with a 1st and by gaining a range of experience in event production and the fashion industry, through work placements and internships, I am now working at M&S head office as a Press Assistant.
A final word: Always do what you enjoy. This can apply to all aspects of life but for me personally, when choosing my options at A-level and what course to do at university, it ultimately came down to what I enjoyed doing most. It is easy to pick an option because you think it’s the one that will lead you to the best paid career or it’s what someone else wants you to do. However, I am a firm believer that if you always do what you enjoy then everything else falls into place around it!
We thank Emily for taking the time to share her LPGS experience and if there are any other LPGS Alumni who would do the same, please get in contact. Email: dm@lpgs.bromley.sch.uk
READING WEEK
At the beginning of March, the whole school celebrated Reading Week with assemblies, competitions and events.
On World Book Day the Library hosted a lunchtime party and students tried for prizes in the Title Twister and the Who’s Who in the Clerihew? competitions.
(A clerihew is a short verse with an AA, BB rhyming pattern). To add to the fun, members of staff brought fiction to life by dressing as their favourite book characters … anything from the World of Dickens to The Handmaid’s Tale!
The focal point for Reading Week, however, was the launch of our Read Rights: Write Rights: Talk Rights campaign. This is an exciting new inter-house competition, with human rights at its heart, created to promote reading, but also to support our bid to become a Gold Award Rights Respecting School.
There are so many fantastic books published for young people that seek to broaden horizons, challenge views and foster an increased empathy for the plight of others. Students are, therefore, asked to read a book that explores an aspect of human rights and then post their review on the Read Rights Firefly page. This registers a point for their House. There will, of course, be an award for the winning House and individual prizes for the most thoughtful reviews.
The Read Rights: Write Rights: Talk Rights campaign will continue into the Summer Term and we very much hope you will encourage your daughter / son to take part in this rewarding reading campaign.
Mr. T. Green - Literacy Co-ordinator
Mrs. J. Hall - Librarian
Thank you to our photographers: Marissa N and Omotayo A of 12A
German GCSE students celebrate reading week
As part of reading week, German GCSE students took on a special challenge this year – to read a whole book in German! They could choose from a selection of popular children’s books, ranging from ‘Der Grüffelo’ and ‘Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt’ to ‘Räuber Ratte’ and ‘Freunde’ and analysed the content, vocabulary and grammar. They also practiced their pronunciation skills by reading out loud to each other. We hope that this activity showed them how much they have learnt and can understand and that they can use their language skills to read for pleasure. Gut gemacht!
Frau Stavrou
University for the Creative Arts: Official Partner
University for the Creative Arts: Official Partner:
We are pleased to announce that we LPGS is now a Creative Business Partner of the University for the Creative Arts (UCA), recently named Modern University of the Year 2019 by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide.
As the No. 1 Specialist Creative University for Employment of Graduates, it is UCA’s aim to inspire students to enter into a career in creative arts, business and technology, and secure a bright future for our creative industries. Together we will work to bring a greater understanding of the creative sector to the college’s community. This collaborative partnership will open the door for students looking to build their career path through continued exploration across creative and business subjects.
What this means for you:
Through our partnership we now have access to a range of activities and resources to support our students and staff across the broad areas of Creative Arts, Business and Technology. UCA will work with our students to inspire their creative talents and raise awareness of the many opportunities in the creative industries.
Students at LPGS who choose to apply to UCA as their next step will also receive guaranteed conditional offers without interview. These applicants will instead be invited to attend a Taster Day to introduce them to UCA, its academic staff, students and peers, as well as receive a review of their portfolio.
UCA, which holds the title of the No.1 Specialist Arts Institution in the UK, has four campuses across the South East of England and is also home to the UK’s first Business School for the Creative Industries. More information and support for students can be found at uca.ac.uk or by emailing partners@uca.ac.uk.
For further information do contact Mr Fox Joyce (Head of Visual Arts at LPGS)
COMIC RELIEF
On Friday 15th March LPGS took part in multiple activities to raise money for Comic Relief. Lead by the Year 13 Geography students and Mr Lutz, as a school we were able to raise in excess of £580. The whole school were involved with learning about the charity and the benefits of donations and philanthropy. Learning took place in assemblies and 15 minutes in all lessons on the day. Year 10 and 12 have written action letters to the local government asking for more to be done to support the work of charities like Comic Relief.
The creativity from the year 13 Geography students to raise money in unique and memorable ways was exemplary. We are very proud of their work and pleased at the total raised so far by the generous donations from students and staff.
Student reporters commented on the day:-
On Friday 15th March years 7-9 had an assembly based on Comic Relief. It allowed us to understand what the charity was really about. It opened up many people’s eyes when realizing that the work done by comic relief wasn’t just in other countries but also a significant amount in the UK. We watched videos showing us different ways in which money raised has helped. At the end of the assembly we were told that the first 15 minutes of each lesson would be based on a Comic Relief topic.
It was really beneficial taking up 15 minutes because it gave us that chance to comment and give our opinions on the work they are doing. It made us very grateful to live where we do and to have so much support around us. Many realized that we are very lucky to go to school every day and will now remember that on days when they don’t want to come to school; it’s the dream of others to have an education all across the world.
We found the day was very positive and rewarding and now we know what the charity really does and how hard they work.
By Maddie and Annabelle 9SH
On Friday, 16th March, our school held various activities throughout the day in the hope that we would raise as much money as possible for Comic Relief. All year groups began their day by attending assemblies which informed us about Comic Relief as a charity and what they do in the UK as well as around the world. Watching videos on the work that Comic Relief have done in the past and are currently doing put into perspective what life is really like for the less fortunate and also how donations are being used to improve their lives.
Furthermore it was in these assemblies that we were told that for the first 15 minutes of every lesson we were to watch a video about the work of Comic Relief and the importance of our donations. Whilst watching these videos, upper year groups had to compose a letter to the local council demanding for more action. In my opinion this was a compelling way for students to get our voices heard and when speaking to those who wrote these letters they described this approach to getting the council to do more as: ”creative personal and different”. The videos we watched were very poignant as they depicted moving stories which encouraged us to call for more action.
Furthermore, during break and lunchtime, there were cakes and other snacks being sold to encourage people to donate. Many students who attended their year groups’ party celebration thoroughly enjoyed eating, having fun with friends and most importantly, donating. A few Year 7 students who attended a slumber party celebration at break time found it “enjoyable and a fun way of getting people to donate”. In addition, during lunchtime, students were welcomed into the sports hall to eat, listen to music and learn more about Comic Relief.
To conclude, through the generosity of students as well as members of staff, we were able to raise over £580, which we know will be used for a good cause. From my perspective, this day was an innovative way of raising awareness for such a major charity which many people may have heard of but are probably unaware of how donations given to that charity are used. In the future, I hope that we as a school can raise more money for Comic Relief and perhaps do more for other charities who support people around the globe.
By Natasha A 10LF
Tomorrow’s Engineers Robotics challenge
On Friday 1st of February six students from years 8, 9 and 10, along with Mr Brookes, braved the snowy conditions to head up to the Tomorrow’s Engineers Robotics Challenge held at the SalesForce Tower in central London. They have been attending an after school club each week to prepare for this which involves creating and programming a robot using the Lego Mindstorm kits, to complete a number of set tasks.
SalesForce are a large multinational company who were hosting the event for the first time in their very impressive offices on the 30th to 37th floors of the building, which is the third highest in London. The location itself was one of the highlights of the day especially when the students found out that each floor of the office has a free kitchen area complete with stocked snack draws and drinks fridge!
The day started with an inspirational talk from one of the SaleForce engineers, a lady from Barcelona who had actually taken part in a very similar Lego robotics competition around 10 years ago. It was then quickly in to the speed challenge where a slow and steady approach saw the Langley team finish third. There then followed a group presentation, teamwork challenge (where the Langley team took a very inventive approach to stacking cups without using your hands), and finally the robotics challenge where they had to complete as many of the challenges as possible in 5 minutes.
The day ended with the prize presentation where the Langley team picked up the award for best designed robot. A successful end to a great day!
British Science week 2019
This year’s Science week was our biggest and best ever! Here some of 7GB tell us about it…
I really enjoyed Science Week! I went every lunchtime and every day we did something different e.g on Monday we mummified an orange and on Wednesday we made tunnels. All of the activities were really fun and I wish we had Science Week more often!
Maisie R
I attended Science Week activities and it was amazing as I got to see things I’d never seen before! My favourite day was looking at the microscopic creatures and learning about tardigrades.
Yasmin W
I went to meet the animals on Science Week. My favourites were Jeff (the bearded dragon) and the guinea pigs who very shy so we had to be careful not to make too much noise. I also really enjoyed the day where we made bubbles as it was really interesting to see how they behaved on the tray and it was fun to try to make the massive bubbles outside.
Martha E
Woman of the Future Assembly
During British Science Week, Year 9 had a talk from Josephine Sanusi, a senior technical consultant for IBM. She spoke to us about what her job involves and what it is like to be a young woman working in a STEM related career. She discussed the path that she’d taken to get where she is and showed us that it is possible for girls to achieve anything they set their minds to. I personally think that her job sounded really interesting and important and found the talk very inspirational.
Zara P 9SG
Theatre trip with our German exchange students
After weeks of anticipation our German exchange partners from Goethe Gymnasium in Berlin finally came to visit us. They spent the week with their host families and explored London during the day with their teachers. On Thursday, 7th March, the German students and their hosts went on a trip together. We walked along the Thames and completed a quiz in mixed groups of German and English students and then enjoyed some free time in Covent Garden. The highlight of the day was the matinee show of ‘School of Rock’ at the Gillian Lynne theatre.
At the end of the week, all German students gave positive feedback and said how they were made to feel very welcome by their host families. They enjoyed practicing their language skills and sampling the typical English tea with milk – which is unheard of in Germany. They are now very much looking forward to seeing their English partners in Berlin when we go on our return visit in May.
Thank you to all families who were involved and helped make the visit such a success!
Frau Stavrou
LPGS - ALUMNI
Name: Alice Deans
Years at LPGS: 2007-2011 - House: Lambda
What I loved: I had a great time at LPGS and particularly enjoyed Dance and Food Technology - my family certainly enjoyed the weekly dishes. Dance enabled us to express ourselves in a fun and exciting manner and provided light relief from the more academic subjects.
What I miss: I never thought I would say this but I really miss the teachers. Their support, guidance and genuine interest in our well-being was evident every day and every lesson. I don’t think we fully appreciated this at the time.
Where did I go after LPGS and how did I end up there: I studied for 2 years at the London College of Beauty Therapy and successfully passed level 2 and 3 NVQs. I have worked ever since in the hair and beauty industry, including a top West End salon. I also went on to study level 3 hairdressing and enjoy working in this fast-changing and fun industry.
A final word: Make the most of it, it doesn’t last forever!
Visual Arts - National Portrait Gallery
Only Human
On Tuesday 19th March 2019 Mr Fox Joyce took a group of sixth form Visual Arts students to the National Portait Gallery in central London to see the Martin Parr photography exhibition, Only Human. This was followed by a gallery workshop based on Photographic Portraiture.
‘Only Human’ includes portraits of people from around the world, but particularly his observations of Britishness; a series of projects that investigate British identity today, including new works on the social scene in Britain in the aftermath of the EU
Jiu Jitsu - Gold!!
It gives us great pleasure to inform you that both Nia and Zuri had great success in their Jiu Jitsu tournaments in California!
Sunday 10th Feb they competed in the Jiu Jitsu World League tournament in San Francisco, with Nia winning Double Gold in the Teen division and Adult blue belt division, Zuri winning Gold in the Junior Yellow belt division, this was extra impressive as they had only arrived into San Francisco a day earlier on the 9th.
After that they spent 5 days training in San Diego with 9 x World Champion and 4th Degree black belt professor Letitica Ribeiro before competing in Long Beach, Los Angles at The IBJJF Kids Pan American Jiu Jitsu Championships which had over 2000 kids competing from all over the world.
This Win makes Nia 3x Pan American Champion and Zuri 2x Pan American Champion!! We are incredibly proud of their sheer dedication and commitment to this sport and they truly embody the sentiment 'Hard work Pays off'.
We would also like to thank everyone at LPGS for the continued support the girls have recieved, we are very grateful.
Kindest regards
Mr and Mrs G Blackman
Women of the World
To celebrate International Women's Day Miss Artini took a group of Year 10 and 12 students to the Women of the World conference at the Southbank centre in London, an inspiring event with empowering guest speakers.
For me the highlight of our trip to the WOW convention was when Sadiq Khan took the stage and said that he was “a proud feminist”. I think this was a profound moment because a lot of people still believe in the stereotype that men cannot be feminists and as important political figure in Britain, him defying this stereotype feels promising that we are moving towards a gender equality centred culture, finally. I especially enjoyed the line up of guests ranging from former prime ministers to figures in the arts of all ethnicities, religious backgrounds, abilities and those of all shapes and sizes. This gave us a broad insight into the experiences as women they have or have had in their different careers. Having leading ladies as guests was truly inspiring for us - the next generations of girls – in becoming confident women in society.
Madison H Y12
The Women of the World Festival was truly inspiring. Having seen many women sharing their experiences in the acting industry it was quite a relief to hear that there has been a slight improvement, although there is still much to be done. Maisie Williams (known for her role in Game of Thrones) spoke powerfully at the event about discrimination in the industry. We also saw how the political world has been affected by gender inequality as Julia Gillard, the first female Prime Minister of Australia, shared her views on the issue. One of the most beneficial parts was the financial information, which gave the huge audience of young women useful statistics and advice which will definitely prepare them for the future and make sure that they’ll grow to be financially independent women.
Auguste V Y12
Gender Equality Project
As part of our gender equality project with out partner school in South Korea, Jungwon Girls Middle School, Year 8 made postcards featuring their favourite British female role models and explained why they are so empowering. We sent those postcards to the South Korean School and they were very excited to see what we had produced. They replied with information about their favourite Korean role models, who Year 8 have been finding out about in form time.
LPGS Public Speaking Success!
On the evening of 12th February the Year 9 Speakers Trust ‘Speak Up, Speak Out’ Borough Final was held at Bullers Wood School. LPGS Finalists Havana and Tanya were great ambassadors for the school, and both delivered their personally written speeches to great effect.
Havana went on to gain Second Place in this very high standard contest, judged by a prestigious panel including the former Mayor of Bromley, a top London Barrister and a Superintendent in the Metropolitan Police Service.
Havana’s “What is ‘Normal’?” speech was a particular hit with the judging panel and the audience. She won a cash prize, and a 2nd place trophy and certificate. Congratulations to both our LPGS Finalists who were so impressive in this competition against the other Borough Secondary Schools.
Mr. Green
Credits:
Created with images by Alexas_Fotos - "easter bunny easter eggs easter" • Phi Hùng Nguyễn - "untitled image"